Well the engine has to come out the 851, as it looks like the main bearings have gone, whilst it's easily possible without I decided to have a go at making an engine cradle. All thanks to Griff on the 851 forum for the ideas and dimensions. I neglected to use the triangulated sections, as the box section was 25.0 x 25.0 x 2.5mm[wall], it seemed stong enough. The castors use a single M12 bolt, which was easier instead of the 4 point fixing of some. I turned up the spacers for the main mounting bolts on the lathe. The front engine support is adjustable in height whilst in use. So the theory is, get the bike up on paddock stands front and back and remove headers. Fit the cradle. Remove paddocks stands [which leaves whole bike sitting on the cradle, which can then be wheeled around], then wheels, swingarm, etc until the frame can be removed, then the engine is left sitting on the stand on the floor. Once the removable sections have been unbolted [captive nuts for ease] the engine will take up less bench space and be more stable without the castors. Time will tell if I got the design right! Was made in mild steel, so I varnished it to stop it rusting! Should work on a lot of other Dukes too!
